VXer groups are dying the death

As previously reported, other less well known VXer groups are dying the death, a development symptomatic of changes in the malware market. Profit has replaced mischief, intellectual curiosity, or a desire to make a name for yourself as the motive for creating malware.
Traditional virus writers have drifted away from the scene to be replaced by more shadowy coders creating sophisticated Trojans aimed at turning an illicit profit. Enforcement action against virus writers has acted as a further disincentive for hobbyists, at least.
Instead of getting proof of concept malware from the likes of 29A, we’re dealing with the Storm Worm Trojan and other sophisticated “professionally developed” botnet clients.